


I Know

by ChunkMonk



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged up characters, Coming Out, Jealousy, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, schmoopy fluff, they are in high school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-06 03:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12808194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChunkMonk/pseuds/ChunkMonk
Summary: "Will was halfway back home when he decided he’d had enough. With a scowl on his face, and a tiny huff of frustration, he made a sloppy u-turn on a gravel drive and headed back in the direction from which he’d come, the Wheeler’s house, pedaling as fast as his legs could handle. By the time he’d made it back to their clean, middle class suburb (nothing like the run down, outskirts of town that Will called home), the sun was beginning to set and the lamplights and porch lights began their lazy parade of firing to life.He wasn’t sure what he was going to do exactly, only knew that he was pissed off, his shoulders tense underneath the collar of his now sweat-soaked shirt, and he was either going to end up laying into Mike, or fleeing in terror at the first sight of him. If his past history was a factor, then it was a high probability for the latter."





	I Know

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this here from my tumblr even though I hate posting here because it always always fucks up the coding in my post. Anyways enjoy lol

Will was halfway back home when he decided he’d had enough. With a scowl on his face, and a tiny huff of frustration, he made a sloppy u-turn on a gravel drive and headed back in the direction from which he’d come, the Wheeler’s house, pedaling as fast as his legs could handle. By the time he’d made it back to their clean, middle class suburb (nothing like the run down, outskirts of town that Will called home), the sun was beginning to set and the lamplights and porch lights began their lazy parade of firing to life.

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do exactly, only knew that he was pissed off, his shoulders tense underneath the collar of his now sweat-soaked shirt, and he was either going to end up laying into Mike, or fleeing in terror at the first sight of him. If his past history was a factor, then it was a high probability for the latter.

Will slowed his pace as the Wheeler’s drive came into view, and his feet met the pavement, bringing the bike to slow, stuttering stops, when he saw the front door crack open and Mike and El slip out onto the porch. They were smiling at each other, soft and warm in the glow of the porch light, giving each other that look Will had grown to hate; the look that said ‘we are a unit and no one else matters’. Will had been the observer of that look too many times, and it still got under his skin. At one time that look had been what him and Mike shared, before the interloper with special powers had careened into their lives. 

An interloper. Will cringed at himself. That wasn’t fair to El. She was many things, but an interloper she was not. She was their friend–his friend–and that’s what made it worse. Will actually liked El, and if his Mom and Hopper’s relationship continued at the pace it had been, she’d soon be a lot more than just a friend. She’d be a sister. A sister who was dating Mike. His Mike. What a mess.  
Will watched, rapt, his eyes never leaving them, as he waited at the curb of the street. They were far enough away for their conversation to be inaudible, but they were smiling and laughing, and then El nodded and Mike engulfed her in his stupidly lanky arms and kissed her on the cheek and Will suddenly couldn’t breathe.

It’s not like he hadn’t seen them kiss before. Of course he had. He’d spent two years of high school averting his eyes as his best friend snuck her kisses in between classes, pecked her on the cheek in the library or cafeteria, and started impromptu make out sessions when they were supposed to be playing D&D. There haven’t been as many in the last two months, but the memory is enough to turn his stomach. It used to drive Dustin and Lucas just as crazy as him, but unlike Will, they eventually got over it. The fact that they now both had their own girlfriends probably contributed to it, but it had always annoyed Will more, hit him a bit harder.

Because he was painfully, maddeningly jealous.

He felt the green eyed monster clawing up his chest, just as he always did, but this time he didn’t fight to keep it down, and he gripped the handle bars of his bike so hard his knuckles turned white. Just as he was debating whether he should turn around and hightail it out of there or not, he was blinded by the headlights of a car coming the opposite direction down the street, and he recognized Hopper’s beat up truck from the dying animal sound it’s engine usually made. El didn’t have her driver’s license yet–something about an incident that happened while getting her learner’s permit that entailed a massive fender bender after El used her powers behind the wheel to avoid hitting a squirrel–so she was carted everywhere by Hopper or Mike.  
El gave Mike a cheery wave as she left the porch and climbed up into the truck, and Will did his best to shrink into the shadows and not be seen.  
He didn’t need to talk to anyone else–he just wanted to talk to Mike.

——  
“Hey.“ 

Mike’s head whipped around, his black curls dancing, and his hand stopped on the door handle. “Will, is that you?” He squinted into the dimness as Will approached, stalking across the front yard after ditching his bike on the tree lawn.

“We were supposed to hang out tonight.” Will accosted him, with no preamble. “I came over at six like we agreed and you weren’t home. Your Mom said you were out with El.” He could barely keep the venom from his voice, and if it were anyone else he was sure his jealousy could be seen from space, but Mike was always a little slow about these things.

Mike’s eyes widened as realization hit him and he took a step forward, pulling the front door closed before Mrs. Wheeler could yell about “letting all the bugs in”. “Oh shit. I completely forgot. You see El and me…”

“Save it.” Will sniffed, and threw up a hand to stop him. His heart was beating a mile a minute, and he felt like keeling over into the grass and upending the contents of his stomach, but he bit his lip hard and pressed on, the adrenaline of his anger taking over. “I should be used to this by now, seeing as it’s been going on for two years.” He spat. Mike looked thoroughly confused, his eyebrows crowding together in that adorable way of his and…no. He had to focus. “Whenever you decide that you actually want to hang out with someone other than El, then give me a call.”

“Will!” Mike cried out, but Will was already halfway back to his bike, after executing what he’d thought was a rather impressive dramatic exit that was sure to thrill whatever neighbors were peeking out their curtains at them, and was just bending down to right his bike when a pair of strong hands clamped on to his shoulders.

He hated, absolutely hated the way that touch made him feel, and how for, if only for a second, all his anger faded into nothing but white noise.

“I am so sorry. So, so sorry. Please, let me make it up to you. The comic book store is still open, we can still make it if you want. Or we can go to the arcade instead, and we can play as many games as you want…on me.”

Will straightened up and turned around, wanting nothing more than to tell Mike where he could stick his “pity quarters”, but felt all of his righteous indignation fizzle out of him like a popped balloon when he saw the hurt and puzzlement written all over Mike’s face. Mike’s lovely, chocolate eyed, high cheeked, pouty mouthed, freckled face. He really was clueless wasn’t he? Totally clueless as to how Will felt about things.

Though he couldn’t blame him, really. Will had worked damn hard all these years to make sure his crush on Mike was a Fort Knox level secret. No one knew. No one could know. Maybe if he lived in the big city–maybe–there could be someone, anyone, he could confide in, but there was no such person here he could tell, and that was the crux of his problem.

Will Byers was in love with Mike Wheeler and the secret was eating him alive.

“I…” Will fumbled for words, lost under the intense scrutiny of Mike, and a bit dizzy from the scent of his aftershave that he liked so much. It was some brand that had a sailboat on the label, and whenever Will was in the Pick ‘n Pay, he would wander over to the toiletries aisle, find a bottle and smell it. Pathetic. “I have to go.” He wrenched himself out of Mike’s grasp and he instantly felt colder for it.

“Will, please don’t go.” Mike said plainly, his voice cracking at the end, and it was enough to finally break Will Byers. All of the jealousy, pain, and love he had bottled up inside of himself for far too long was boiling like a kettle, and he could feel himself begin to shake like steam was ready to pour out of his ears.

How dare him, Will thought. How dare Mike Wheeler, perfect Mike Wheeler, to stand here in front of me, looking so genuinely crushed, like he truly cares about me–loves me even–and he just has no idea, does he? He has no idea what he does to me. How he hurts me. It’s not fair. None of this is fair. And I am so angry I could spit. I am angry because it’s not fair–how I am, and how the world is, and how out of all the people in the world I could love, it has to be him. And so angry that I want to punch him, but more because I don’t. Because I don’t want to punch him at all. Because I want to grab his shirt and kiss him, here on the front lawn in white bread, Middle American suburbia, and the consequences be damned.

“No!” Will shouted out after what felt like an eternity, and his whole body vibrated with the need to either pace back and forth like a leopard in a cage, or get up into Mike’s space, crowd him with rough hands shoved into his chest as he yelled. “You don’t get to do this! You don’t get to ditch me and then pull the big, caring ‘I will fix you’ Mike Wheeler routine. You don’t get to do it! Not this time Mike. You can’t fix this and you can’t fix me!”

Realizing that his voice was now echoing all down the street, he stopped, his chest heaving in shaky breaths, and he was vaguely aware that he’d probably just said a bit too much. None of this was a normal reaction to the situation, and there was bound to be questions. Lots of them. A part of Will was terrified, but a part of him was just…tired. 

As if on cue, Mike said. “I don’t understand.”

“You never did.” Will said plainly, and Mike looked even more lost.

“I’m sorry I really am.” There was an edge of panic to his voice now, and he looked more like a small, scared boy than the tall 17 year old that usually radiated effortless confidence. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. If I’ve been a lousy friend. I will do anything to make it up to you, I promise. Just…please….” Mike reached out and tentatively tugged at his sleeve. Will stared at his fingers, his cheeks warm from his touch and the gentleness in his voice. “Please, Will. Tell me what I can do.“

At that Will blew out a long stream of air he’d been holding in his lungs. It burned. He stared at the ground. What could he possibly say to that? He’d already shown his hand quite a bit more than he’d intended. "It’s complicated. It’s…” He trailed off, not entirely sure where he wanted to go. Maybe he could try some version of the truth? “It’s just hard to see you two…together…kissing…and stuff.” Will groaned internally. He was spectacularly bad at this and it would be a miracle if he could escape this conversation with an ounce of his pride left intact.

“I know.”

Will flinched. For a moment he stopped breathing. “You…you know?” Will stared up at him, horrified. Every time he’d been called a name, been pushed down by the bullies, been kidnapped by the Demogorgon, and even when his own body had been invaded by the shadow monster–none of it was as terrifying as this moment. He felt as if he’d been stripped of all his clothing and made to walk bare down the school corridor like one of those nightmares come to life. But this time it was his heart that was exposed, not his flesh. How the hell did he know?!

Mike scrunched his nose and tilted his head thoughtfully; he blinked a few times as if he was gathering his thoughts and Will braced for the worst.

“Yeah, I mean, it can’t be easy, especially with all of us dating now and stuff. Lucas and Dustin have girlfriends now and you…well you’ve never really…I mean…” Mike looked increasingly uncomfortable, and a tinge of red could be seen climbing up his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, barely visibly under the light of the street lamp. “You’ve never really liked anyone…like that. I think. Or maybe you have. I don’t know. But you’ve never really said. And you’ve never really dated anyone so.” The words tumbled out as if his tongue was violently pushing them past his teeth and lips. He raked a hand through his hair, disheveling it. “But I know there is a girl out there for you Will and one day you will find someone too and…”

Will laughed out loud. The sound was harsh and unmistaken in it’s bitterness. Mike looked taken aback, and for the first time in a while they both made direct eye contact. It was surprisingly intense.  
“You think I’m jealous because I don’t have a girlfriend?" 

The word 'girlfriend’ sounded especially foreign on his tongue, and he spoke it like a curse.

Mike blinked back at him. "Uh… yeah? I mean,” He looked down to pick at a loose thread on his sweater, a nervous tick of his. It was Will’s favorite sweater of his by far. He’d always wondered how it would feel against his cheek. It would probably be scratchy as hell, but he didn’t care. “Why else would you be jealous of me and El being together? Or of us kissing and stuff?”

The question hung in the air and the moment stretched out between them, perfect in it’s supreme awkwardness. He doesn’t even suspect it, does he? It’s not even an inkling in his mind, Will thought. Part of him wanted to shake Mike–shake some sense into him–and part of him wanted to flee in self preservation. But as the silence continued, he felt the fight leave his body.

“You tell me. What is the usual reason someone is jealous when…someone is…dating someone else.” 

“Well because they..” Mike said quickly–clearly knowing the answer–but then stopped. 

Will could almost see the gears turning in his head and he resisted the urge to laugh. It was rather funny, in an 'I am so going to have to tell my therapist about this sometime aren’t I?’ kind of way. He felt nauseous but strangely exhilarated. Whatever happened, it would finally be out there, floating in the ether, and not left inside of him to fester. In a way, he would be free.

“Because they like them?” Mike turned it into a question, though it’s clear he didn’t need to, but it’s was if he needed to hear Will say it before he could believe what he’d just realized.

Will scrubbed his hands across his face; he couldn’t bear to look at him while he said this. He’d been very brave so far but to look at him, when he said out loud the one thing he’d never dared to tell a soul, well, it’s too much. “Yes. I was jealous because I…like you.” He breathed out. “And not because I’m your friend and I’m lonely. But because I want to be more than your friend. I always have.”

He felt instantly lighter, but he still couldn’t bear to look at Mike. He didn’t want to look up to see the inevitable sadness, or pity, or worse, the disappointment and disgust he used to see in his Dad’s eyes. That would probably kill him.

There was nothing but silence in return. Painful, heart stopping silence. The wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves. Will’s sneaker squeaked as he drove the tip of it into the sidewalk. A neighbors TV could be heard through an open window, the nightly news. In the distance a dog barked. And then:

“You do?!” And it’s Mike that’s speaking but he sounded different. Not like 17 year old Mike whose voiced dropped a few octaves ages ago, but more like Mike during the summer when his voice had changed and cracked painfully to everyone’s amusement. It’s high and squeaky and…cute. He doesn’t sound disgusted at all and Will steels himself before raising his head and squaring his shoulders, like a soldier going into battle.

What he found there just about blew him away. Mike was looking at him as if he’d never seen him before. His eyes were soft, lips slightly parted, with one corner curved up into that doofy smile that Will loved that he’d…..that he’d only seen aimed at El.

Holy shit.

Is it? It is possible that….? Will shook the thought away as fast as it had popped into his head. That can’t be right. Can it? There is no way in hell that Mike Wheeler felt about him the same way he felt about Mike Wheeler. He liked girls! He always has. He liked their long hair and Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers and short skirts and had a poster of the pretty lead singer from The Bangles in his bedroom and….he’s in love with El. Besides, the universe has never been that nice to Will.

“Uh. Yea…I….I do.” Will replied at long last, sounding a bit breathless. He wasn’t sure what was going on but something felt different. Like when the air pressure dropped before a storm. Was he hallucinating it though? The smile, the warmth, the way Mike was subtly leaning forward. His Mom had once told him that “it was always nice to hear someone say they like you even if they don’t feel the same” the time she’d tried to explain why one of her many relationships had failed. Was it the same with Mike? Was he happy just to know he was liked? Was that what this was?

Mike was still smiling at him, while his eyes searched Will’s face. “So you’re….are you…I mean, are you…”

“I’m gay.” Will replied, and it was done. There was no use denying it, or dancing around the truth. It was the first time he’d ever said those words to another person, and despite his worst fears (and the things his Dad had said, and what those televangelists shouted on TV) the earth did not in fact open up into a fiery pit of damnation underneath his feet and send him plunging into hell.   
Nothing had happened. Nothing had changed at all, except everything…and it felt wonderful. Terrifying but wonderful.

“That’s good.” Mike replied shyly, his voice sounding off. Mike was never shy. Will cocked his head.

“It is? You’re not freaked or anything? I just told you I am gay and that I like you and it’s good?”

Mike’s lips curled even more and he nodded. “Yeah. It’s really good. It’s good to know at last. I’ve always suspected I suppose. That you could be gay. And I guess I never thought it was that big of a deal. And as for liking me…”

Will looked away. Here it came at last…

“I always hoped that you did but I was too scared know. In case you didn’t. I could never get a read on you.”

Will’s head jerked back violently. What?!? When his brain got back online he managed to actually look at Mike, and he saw it, plain as day, written all over his face. This wasn’t a hallucination, or some sort of joke, or even pity. Mike was looking at him through the fringe of his dark lashes, his cheeks positively crimson, and he was fiddling with his fingers. He was nervous and adorable and, oh God, Will had no idea what to do. Things like this never happened to guys like Will Byers. Nice guys finish last and all that jazz. Gay guys finished even farther behind. He was Duckie in Pretty in Pink, doomed to sit on the sidelines while his love lived happily ever after with perfect Blaine.

“But you…you…”

“Like boys too.” Mike finished for him, biting his lip the way he always did when he was determined to get the words out. “Like that. The way you like boys. But I like girls too. I like both. Nancy says it’s called 'bisexual’ but I’ve never really thought much about it. There’s really only one boy I’ve ever….felt that way about.”

Oh. My. God.

And then, as if to make Will feel like he truly was in some sort of John Hughes romcom, Mike began to lean in, the same way he had seen Mike do a million times right before Will would roll his eyes and look away. He didn’t look away this time. Wild horses and all that couldn’t have pried his eyes away from the sight of Mike Wheeler, his eyelids closed and his lips gently parted, as he bent down to kiss him.  
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 

But he wasn’t a character in a John Hughes film, he was poor, scrawny Will Byers, with his hand me down clothes and over-the-kitchen-sink haircut from his Mom (thankfully the bowl wasn’t used anymore) and his version of Molly Ringwald already had a Blaine….he had El.

Mike was with El. What the hell were they doing?

“El!” Will managed to get out meekly, jerking back just as he’d felt the first exhale of breath on his face. They couldn’t do this. No matter the fact that Will had loved Mike longer–loved him first–it just wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t right.

“I’m not with El.”

Will was thoroughly confused. “But I saw you guys on the porch and you kissed her and…”

There was a soft chuckle of laughter, and Mike only seemed to move closer.

“Yeah, on the cheek. Because we’re still close you know. When you’ve been with someone for a long time, you still care about them even after you’ve broken up.”

“Br–broken up?” Was all Will could get out, his heart thumping against his rib cage. How had he missed this? He noticed and catalogued everything to do with Mike Wheeler, so how had he overlooked something so monumental?

“Yeah. Two months now. We were keeping it quiet for a while. We’d been together so long and it just felt awkward getting into the reasons why with our parents and you guys and stuff…especially since I’m not sure we both know why.” He shrugged. “I guess sometimes things just end.”

Will nodded. So that’s why their daily displays of affection had dwindled down. Now that he really thought about it, he actually couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Mike kiss El. It had felt like yesterday in his heart, but painful memories were always more vivid.

Mike moved closer, and a playful smirk lit up his features. “I was actually going to tell you when you stormed up to me, yelling at me for ditching you for El. Still sorry about that by the way.” Mike grimaced. “I promised to help her with her English paper a while back.”

“Ri–right. Yes, well I…” Will was completely at a loss for words. His face was so hot he felt that if he reached up to touch his cheek he’d singe his fingers. He felt so stupid, so foolish, but when Mike resumed his lean in, gently cupping his chin and tilting his head forward, Will stopped thinking at all.

——-  
Will had never been kissed before. There were a few girls at parties who had looked up to the challenge over the years, though he had become an expert at dodging them. The extent of his experience was awkward smooches on the lips from his grandma who didn’t realize that the cheek was just fine thank you very much, and whose lips had been cold and dry and smelled like the menthol cigarettes she smoked by the carton. Mike’s lips were soft and warm, and there was nothing sour or stale about him.

Their lips touched tentatively at first, Will had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and it was as if all his nerve endings had been set on fire. As if all the pleasure centers in his brain were overloading on oxytocin and serotonin. His biology teacher would be so proud he remembered that at all. 

It was so gentle at first, just a simple press of lips and shared breath as they exhaled, and then Mike was wrapping his hands around Will waist and pulling him closer and oh–OH. Then it was so different, because Mike did know what he was doing, and he was doing it perfectly. Will had no point of comparison, but he was more than fine with his lack of experience if it meant that he could kiss Mike Wheeler for the rest of his life. After a few moments Mike’s lips slid open and his tongue had swiped at Will’s bottom lip and then it swiped at Will’s own tongue and that’s when everything got sort of light and floaty and a delicious warmth spread out from his gut through his limbs.

They stood like that, pressed together under the street light, making out like the pair of teenagers they were, until the need for air, and a jolt of common sense had overtaken both of them. The neighborhood was usually deserted at night, but it was incredibly stupid for them to be doing this outside, in full view anyone who should happen by.  
They stepped back from each other, huffing out puffs of incredulous “did we just do that?’ laughter and looking at the ground shyly. Then suddenly they were both laughing harder, a release of adrenaline, and it was high and shaky and utterly ridiculous, but they were both giggling like children, and Will was suddenly struck with how much he loved Mike. His ridiculous, beautiful Mike.

"I love you.” Came tumbling out, unbidden. Will blanched. Shit. Shit. Now he’d gone and done it. It was one thing to come out as gay and admit you had feelings for your best friend and then kiss him, but to then say he loved him? It was too much. Too fast. It didn’t matter how much Will felt it–how long he’d felt it–it was still brand new to Mike. And even though he was obviously comfortable with this, the L-word was enough to make any guy panic. Shit.

Will waited for the inevitable stuttered excuses and to watch the back of Mike as he turned away from him…but it never came. Instead Mike simply smiled down at him, and drew Will back into an embrace, the neighbors be damned.

It was seriously time to stop underestimating him, Will thought.

“I know.” Mike replied, squeezing him tight.

“Ok, Han.” Will snorted.

“Does this make you my Leia?" 

Will felt the rumble of Mike’s laughter in his chest. His body was so warm, and he melted into it, sighing in contentment. He’d always hated being short, especially as the boys around him had shot upwards. Nothing worse than being small and slight when you had to contend with rumors of being a queer and a fairy. But in that moment, Will had never loved his lack of height more. He was just the perfect size to fit into Mike’s arms, and have his chin balance on the top of his head. Will sighed in contentment and pressed closer–the sweater was indeed scratchy on his cheek. It was glorious.


End file.
